Classifieds car inspection scam
Discussion
WLTS listed low value car on AT today, within 10 mins had a call. Wow I thought, very fast but then with saved searches there could be someone keen on a Saturday
Whatsapped him address as per his request, sounded nice friendly young male, Thai type accent.
He agreed to come tomorrow at a fixed time, asked a few basic questions. I thought weird but could be too good to be true
Then series of WhatsApp qu. on history etc all reasonable and then said have i got a car inspection? I said no this is buyer ls responsibility to access 3rd party info on car finance/accident history. Makes no sense for buyer to get as with AI one could fake a report in mins
He insisted he was being reasonable and he really wanted a report by these as it was more thorough https://www.vehicleinspections.uk/
A quick look basic report £41, best report £55. Seemed to do generic checks that I bought a pack of 2 for £15 last year. I stated I would not pay £55
He then got insistent and said he'd pay car asking price and the report cost. This is when I got annoyed, identified it as a scam and ceased contact
A weird one, he must be working for the report company and gets you in a positive frame of mind that you could get an easy sale and it must work on some folk. My thinking is he could contact 50-100 people a day and if 50% if them bite at circa £50 profit per report (assume you can buy this scraping software cheap as there are dozens of providers) he has a good day's income. He's always online on his business WhatsApp number....
Anyone else experienced similar? (For clarity this is nothing to do with AT)
Their website is ok but looks a bit DIY and reviews are all in the last 8 days. Which infers they set up a new URL and keep rolling. There are many very similar URLs so it's confusing to get feedback on their reputation etc
In theory he'll turn up at 3pm tomorrow, in reality pigs may fly
Whatsapped him address as per his request, sounded nice friendly young male, Thai type accent.
He agreed to come tomorrow at a fixed time, asked a few basic questions. I thought weird but could be too good to be true
Then series of WhatsApp qu. on history etc all reasonable and then said have i got a car inspection? I said no this is buyer ls responsibility to access 3rd party info on car finance/accident history. Makes no sense for buyer to get as with AI one could fake a report in mins
He insisted he was being reasonable and he really wanted a report by these as it was more thorough https://www.vehicleinspections.uk/
A quick look basic report £41, best report £55. Seemed to do generic checks that I bought a pack of 2 for £15 last year. I stated I would not pay £55
He then got insistent and said he'd pay car asking price and the report cost. This is when I got annoyed, identified it as a scam and ceased contact
A weird one, he must be working for the report company and gets you in a positive frame of mind that you could get an easy sale and it must work on some folk. My thinking is he could contact 50-100 people a day and if 50% if them bite at circa £50 profit per report (assume you can buy this scraping software cheap as there are dozens of providers) he has a good day's income. He's always online on his business WhatsApp number....
Anyone else experienced similar? (For clarity this is nothing to do with AT)
Their website is ok but looks a bit DIY and reviews are all in the last 8 days. Which infers they set up a new URL and keep rolling. There are many very similar URLs so it's confusing to get feedback on their reputation etc
In theory he'll turn up at 3pm tomorrow, in reality pigs may fly
Within 5 minutes of my advert going live on PH, I've had both an email and a whatsapp message from two different interested "buyers"... I spend well over an hour answering all their questions, and then, sure enough, can you please go to http://www.mysuperdodgycarcheckerwebsite.com and perform a check because "i just sold my car and I did the same", blah, blah...
Since I've added a message at the end of my advert to not bother if that's the play, it's not happened again. Also, do not give your address details before you've confirmed that they are not just going to ask for this check to be done by you, the seller.
Since I've added a message at the end of my advert to not bother if that's the play, it's not happened again. Also, do not give your address details before you've confirmed that they are not just going to ask for this check to be done by you, the seller.
Countdown said:
I wonder what they would say if you told them you had an AA /RAC inspection report.
When people have suggested that it's the buyers responsibility, their answer is : I only trust this company because <some made up reason>.So they would no doubt use the same argument
(And of course their company can only be used by the current owner of the car)
As mentioned, loads of threads on this. I had it a while back. Very unlike me as I'm a cynical suspicious bugger at the best of the times, but the opening gambit by the one I had was fairly convincing to start off with, but then with them not being British they slip up by asking about a "clean title" and any "liens", before they get to the actual fake vehicle check website scam.
And of course nobody offers full asking price for the car without having seen it, and especially not when the ad has only been live for ten minutes.
I also learned the hard way that you should never put your number anywhere on the ad or in the contact details - always use the messenger until you've fully established that they are legit and a genuine interested buyer who wants to come view it. There are bot farms that harvest the numbers from these ad platforms and you get bombarded with recruitment agency texts and calls and constant spamming from "your local energy provider", Sky, Virgin and other shysters trying to get you to switch phone provider.
And of course nobody offers full asking price for the car without having seen it, and especially not when the ad has only been live for ten minutes.
I also learned the hard way that you should never put your number anywhere on the ad or in the contact details - always use the messenger until you've fully established that they are legit and a genuine interested buyer who wants to come view it. There are bot farms that harvest the numbers from these ad platforms and you get bombarded with recruitment agency texts and calls and constant spamming from "your local energy provider", Sky, Virgin and other shysters trying to get you to switch phone provider.
v8notbrave said:
WLTS listed low value car on AT today, within 10 mins had a call. Wow I thought, very fast but then with saved searches there could be someone keen on a Saturday
Whatsapped him address as per his request, sounded nice friendly young male, Thai type accent.
He agreed to come tomorrow at a fixed time, asked a few basic questions. I thought weird but could be too good to be true
Then series of WhatsApp qu. on history etc all reasonable and then said have i got a car inspection? I said no this is buyer ls responsibility to access 3rd party info on car finance/accident history. Makes no sense for buyer to get as with AI one could fake a report in mins
He insisted he was being reasonable and he really wanted a report by these as it was more thorough https://www.vehicleinspections.uk/
A quick look basic report £41, best report £55. Seemed to do generic checks that I bought a pack of 2 for £15 last year. I stated I would not pay £55
He then got insistent and said he'd pay car asking price and the report cost. This is when I got annoyed, identified it as a scam and ceased contact
A weird one, he must be working for the report company and gets you in a positive frame of mind that you could get an easy sale and it must work on some folk. My thinking is he could contact 50-100 people a day and if 50% if them bite at circa £50 profit per report (assume you can buy this scraping software cheap as there are dozens of providers) he has a good day's income. He's always online on his business WhatsApp number....
Anyone else experienced similar? (For clarity this is nothing to do with AT)
Their website is ok but looks a bit DIY and reviews are all in the last 8 days. Which infers they set up a new URL and keep rolling. There are many very similar URLs so it's confusing to get feedback on their reputation etc
In theory he'll turn up at 3pm tomorrow, in reality pigs may fly
The whole thing is a scam. The messenger is just the scammer the website is where they make the money. First off the card payment you’ll make then probably more card payments then to top it off they have your id details and your address so maybe they’ll take a loan out if your name etc. the website is 100000% not legit in anyway. When I listed a car on Facebook i had loads of people ask the same thing in the first 5 mins. Whatsapped him address as per his request, sounded nice friendly young male, Thai type accent.
He agreed to come tomorrow at a fixed time, asked a few basic questions. I thought weird but could be too good to be true
Then series of WhatsApp qu. on history etc all reasonable and then said have i got a car inspection? I said no this is buyer ls responsibility to access 3rd party info on car finance/accident history. Makes no sense for buyer to get as with AI one could fake a report in mins
He insisted he was being reasonable and he really wanted a report by these as it was more thorough https://www.vehicleinspections.uk/
A quick look basic report £41, best report £55. Seemed to do generic checks that I bought a pack of 2 for £15 last year. I stated I would not pay £55
He then got insistent and said he'd pay car asking price and the report cost. This is when I got annoyed, identified it as a scam and ceased contact
A weird one, he must be working for the report company and gets you in a positive frame of mind that you could get an easy sale and it must work on some folk. My thinking is he could contact 50-100 people a day and if 50% if them bite at circa £50 profit per report (assume you can buy this scraping software cheap as there are dozens of providers) he has a good day's income. He's always online on his business WhatsApp number....
Anyone else experienced similar? (For clarity this is nothing to do with AT)
Their website is ok but looks a bit DIY and reviews are all in the last 8 days. Which infers they set up a new URL and keep rolling. There are many very similar URLs so it's confusing to get feedback on their reputation etc
In theory he'll turn up at 3pm tomorrow, in reality pigs may fly
I had one today!
Hi,
9am Wednesday works for me, I’ll see you then.
In terms of the history report, it’s usually the seller’s responsibility to provide any existing documentation if available, so I’d just be looking to review what you already have when I come to view the car.
So it would be much appreciated if you provide me the Carbronze report so i can see it with my mechanic, Once everything is clean so i'll arrange the visit and purchase it accordingly and don't worry about the cost of the report if the report comes clean so i'm happy to reimburse the cost of the report in total transaction so there's no issue on that part.
Thanks,
On Mon, 6 Jul 2026 at 6:42 PM,
Around 9am good for you?
if you want to do the research on that website, go for it. That way, if you pay for the fee, you'll know you are getting correct information.
Cheers
Lorrell
On Mon, 6 Jul 2026 at 14:39, Matt Roper <ropermatt69@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
Wednesday morning works for me — I can make that. Just let me know a time that suits you and I’ll be there.
Perfect and one quick thing in the meantime could you share its history report with me from Carbronze.com? as i've used it before and its pretty accurate what it's shows.
The report covers ownership history, mileage consistency, finance history, past damage and all of that, I'm also fine with factoring its fee in total so you've covered there.
Hi,
9am Wednesday works for me, I’ll see you then.
In terms of the history report, it’s usually the seller’s responsibility to provide any existing documentation if available, so I’d just be looking to review what you already have when I come to view the car.
So it would be much appreciated if you provide me the Carbronze report so i can see it with my mechanic, Once everything is clean so i'll arrange the visit and purchase it accordingly and don't worry about the cost of the report if the report comes clean so i'm happy to reimburse the cost of the report in total transaction so there's no issue on that part.
Thanks,
On Mon, 6 Jul 2026 at 6:42 PM,
Around 9am good for you?
if you want to do the research on that website, go for it. That way, if you pay for the fee, you'll know you are getting correct information.
Cheers
Lorrell
On Mon, 6 Jul 2026 at 14:39, Matt Roper <ropermatt69@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
Wednesday morning works for me — I can make that. Just let me know a time that suits you and I’ll be there.
Perfect and one quick thing in the meantime could you share its history report with me from Carbronze.com? as i've used it before and its pretty accurate what it's shows.
The report covers ownership history, mileage consistency, finance history, past damage and all of that, I'm also fine with factoring its fee in total so you've covered there.
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